


i missed you, data.

by PeachGO3



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Post-Episode: s04e24 The Mind's Eye, Sharing a Bed, very short and self-indulgent but it’s the end of the decade so hey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22022830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachGO3/pseuds/PeachGO3
Summary: While Geordi is still trying to recover from his brainwash, he figures it’s finally time to openly talk to his best friend. – Emotional Hurt/Comfort. Can be read as platonic.
Relationships: Data & Geordi La Forge, Data/Geordi La Forge
Comments: 14
Kudos: 113





	i missed you, data.

Nights were restless ever since the incident, and tonight there was another panic attack tearing Geordi out of his uneasy sleep. Gasping, he tried to attempt the breathing technique Deanna had shown him, and he tried to make himself aware of his surroundings – his soft bed, his fragrant houseplants – but nothing could stop him from using the communicator. His voice shook.

“LaForge to Lieutenant C-commander Data.”

No response. The room seemed slanted.

“Data, come in, please. Please.”

“Data here.”

Geordi exhaled heavily. Of course, it’d take some time for Data to answer. He was probably busy.

“Geordi?” Data’s soft voice asked. “Is something wrong?”

Geordi took another deep breath. Deanna had recommended him to talk to Data more, and indeed, every conversation with him felt good. And so, Geordi collected himself and sat upright on the edge of the bed, clearing his throat, only to squirm the very next second. “Yes, um…” He sighed. “Data, can you come over?”

There was a brief pause. “I will be right there.”

“Thanks, Data,” Geordi said and rubbed his face. He felt for the Visor but decided to not put it on. He didn’t feel like it. Embracing himself with weary arms, he silently waited for his doors to chime. When they finally did, his toes curled up.

“Come in.”

The soft swishing and Data’s familiar steps were almost therapeutic. They were heavy and eerily steady, yet there was something light-footed about them.

The doors swished close again. “Hello, Geordi,” Data said, and Geordi could hear he was still about ten feet away from him.

“Evening, Data,” he said and sniffed. “Sorry I’m not in uniform.”

He could practically see the android’s lips curling upwards. “Do not apologize. It is nighttime in the ship’s internal circadian rhythm, and you had been sleeping, so pajamas are the appropriate attire.” He paused briefly, only to add, “Besides, the deep red color of your sleeping outfit is a personal favorite of mine.”

There were a lot of things Geordi wanted to say, but the first one was: “A personal favorite?”

“Yes,” Data said and stepped closer. “Although it may not have any deeper meaning, I find myself liking to see you wearing this particular shade of the color. It suits you. Furthermore, this fabric appears to be very soft and comfortable, which are positive traits of many outfits.”

“It is snugly,” Geordi agreed with a smile. He embraced himself tighter.

“What did you call me for, Geordi?” Data asked, softer now. “Did you have another bad dream?”

Geordi swallowed. “Yeah, you could call it that.”

“Ah.” Another pause. It was weird, but just having Data here with him calmed Geordi down. He shifted. “I guess I just wanted to talk. I… used the communicator out of reflex,” he said.

“I see. What did you want to talk about?”

Geordi exhaled and pried his hands loose from his arms to fold them in his lap. He should embrace the normality of the situation. “There’s one thing I had on my mind for a few days by now,” he said. Heavy steps indicated Data stepped closer, stopping four, maybe three feet in front of him. He waited for Geordi to continue.

“Thank you,” Geordi blurted out as he did not know how else to start. “Thanks for… figuring stuff out. Everything with the E-band and the transmissions and all the traces down in Cargo Bay… I know it was your duty to do so anyway, but, yeah. Thank you.”

“You are very welcome, Geordi. It goes without saying.”

“Yeah.” And out it was. Out of his system. Geordi chuckled. “It’s funny, y’know. I thought about phrasing these words very often, because I felt they were just so important. I thought about little else. And now… I said them.”

“Your phrasing was all right,” Data replied in his blatant honesty, pulling another chuckle from Geordi. “Really, Data,” he continued, “there would’ve been a war if I hadn’t been stopped in time.”

“True.” A pause. “And I would have lost my most valued friend.” Data stepped closer, adding, “Once I had realized that, both reasons encouraged me to work as fast and as hard as possible.”

“Well, you did the most amazing job.”

“Thank you.” Data stopped right next to Geordi. “May I sit down?” he asked. “Or do you not wish to talk any further?”

Geordi exhaled shakily. He had said what he had wanted to get off his chest, so was there anything more to say? Should they talk about falsifying memories and violence? His naked feet touched on the ground. The room felt so friendly right now, the night so calm that he wanted to wrap this feeling and keep it in his heart.

“N-no,” he brought himself to say. “But, Data,” he added hastily, “I still want you to stay. That all right?”

“Of course,” Data replied instantly. “I do not require sleep, and I am currently neither needed on the bridge nor in engineering. You do not seem very stable at the moment and require attention.”

“Right,” Geordi chuckled bitterly.

“So, I would be happy in providing comfort to you, if you want me to do so.”

Geordi pressed his lips together, just as hard as the palms of his hands. He nodded. “I do,” he whispered. It sounded far more broken than he’d intended to, and his head spun, and he instinctively reached for Data when he felt the bed bent slightly at the android’s weight.

His breath jumped when Data laid his hand on top of his. And then the universe seemed to come to a halt. It spun slower somehow, pulsating in the rhythm of Geordi’s heartbeat. Telling him it was all right. He sobbed, bringing a hand up to cover his face, curling up, and Data’s strong arms wrapped around him tenderly.

Gasping from relief, Geordi sobbed against his shoulder. It was all right to cry, Deanna was right, he should not suppress it. Data did not let go of him. Thankfully. Geordi was free to cling onto him as tightly as he desired, Data allowed any of his touches.

Now he even caressed Geordi’s hair. His hand moved so smoothly that Geordi was almost surprised by it. He’d thought the touch would be irregular, fitful even, like one of those head convulsions Data had when he was computing or confused. But no, the touch was steady and soft, just like his steps. Data also smelled very nice, somewhat oily maybe, but there was something in his uniform that was very refreshing. Geordi made a mental note to ask him what detergent spray he used.

Breathing in, he realized how relaxed he suddenly had become. Even his heartrate had calmed down. Sniffing a last time, he semi-straightened up, and Data’s hand stopped moving. However, Geordi found his head too heavy to lift it completely, so he just rested it on Data’s shoulder. Again, he was allowed the touch.

Steady pulses. Steady universe, with a place for him.

“Y’know, Data,” Geordi began, shifting slightly, “looking back now, I feel like there had been a stranger inside my body. Like someone who breaks into your house and you wouldn’t even know.”

Data nodded slightly.

“I still feel… estranged,” Geordi murmured. “What is real? Which memories are real? It tears me apart when I think about it. The water around my body had felt so real, the memory of it at least – and now I know it was all a construct. I didn’t go swimming, it wasn’t real.”

“If you want me to,” Data offered with a soft voice, “I can remind you of any joint situation you ask me about, so that you know whether had really happened. As you know, I do not forget anything.”

“That a blessing or a curse?” Geordi asked quietly.

There was a pause. “I find this function to be a good thing, if it will contribute to your healing process.” Data paused, and Geordi felt him smiling when he said, “It is over now, Geordi. You are safe on the Enterprise and safe with everyone onboard. Safe with me.”

“Thank you, Data,” Geordi said. ‘Safe with me’. It was nice to be so close, because he could speak as softly as he wanted to now, Data would hear him anyway.

“You are very welcome, Geordi. Do you feel better now?”

Teary-eyed, Geordi nodded, and the rubbing against Data’s shoulder made him realize how much he needed this touch. He raised his hand to grab Data’s arm and pull him even closer, swaying gently, always in the rhythm of the universe.

They stayed like this for a whole while, silently. Somewhen, Data brought up his hand to slowly stroke over Geordi’s upper arm, where the thick T-shirt warmed his skin. Geordi all but melted. He sighed.

“Do you enjoy this kind of physical intimacy?” Data asked.

Geordi hummed affectionately.

“That is fortunate,” Data continued, “not only because it seems to be expedient, but also because I, too, enjoy it. I also like the texture of this fabric. It is not thin, yet it feels rather light and very…” – he seemed to look for a word – “fluffy.”

Geordi snorted. “It is,” he smiled.

“I do not own any pajamas. I shall replicate my own sometime soon and make them similar to yours.”

“Hell yeah,” Geordi replied, looking forward to the image. Data’s fascination with pajamas was very cute. He did not sleep, so when would he wear them?

They swayed slower now, but that already seemed to be too much, because Geordi was getting more tired by the second. His eyes fell completely shut. Data noticed, saying: “You should lie down now, Geordi. A regulated sleep schedule is essential to both your mental and physical health. For you personally, I recommend at least… seven point eight hours of sleep. I will set the alarm accordingly.”

“All right,” Geordi hummed, pulling out of Data’s tender embrace. He crawled backwards with weary limbs and fished for his blanket which he had previously kicked away in his restless sleep. With a sigh, he fell backwards into his giant pillow, spread out flat, and it felt like falling right into a cool meadow of flowers and gratitude. He rolled sidewards and pulled the blanket closer.

He still felt Data’s weight at the edge of the bed, but it was misplaced there, he found.

“Data?”

“Yes, Geordi?”

God, that voice was so soft. “Come to me,” Geordi mumbled, “please.”

There was a pause. “You mean to say that I shall sleep with you?” Data asked, voice laced with excitement.

“No,” Geordi smiled into the pillow, “not sleep, just… cuddle?”

“Very well. I am very happy to oblige your request.” Data started climbing toward Geordi, which made the bed shake heavily, and Geordi chuckled at the clumsiness of it all. “Before you ask, you don’t need any pajamas,” he murmured happily.

“That is very nice of you,” he heard Data’s soft voice say right above him. Judging from the bed’s flexion, Geordi was the little spoon now. Warm hands embraced him gently, oh, how very gently. Geordi still managed to prompt Data to slip under the blanket, but he was already drifting into steady, easy sleep, sinking deeper into the universal grace that was Data’s warmth. Seeing how there was still some space between them, Geordi rolled sideways, right into Data’s arms.

-: ✧ :- ☽ -: ✧ :-

A faint alarm setting woke Geordi the next morning. It was time for his shift, time to get up – “Ouch!”

“Are you hurt, Geordi?”

Geordi rubbed his face, groaning. That was Data. Or more precisely, Data’s head. “No,” Geordi mumbled. “If anything, I must’ve hurt you. Sorry ‘bout that.”

“I am very much fine, Geordi,” Data assured him, and his voice tumbled lower with each word, so deep and rough that Geordi shivered. Of course, he remembered where they were, it all came back now – Hissing playfully, he snuggled up to his friend’s chest and mumbled, “Good morning.”

A thumb rubbed perfectly geometrical patterns onto his shoulder, resistantly at first, but easing into it more and more. “Good morning. You seem to be well rested,” said Data.

“Like a Vulcan sand marmot,” Geordi said, stretching lazily. If only the alarm would stop. “Hm… I could’ve sworn I felt kisses on my neck.”

The thumb halted. “Kisses?” Data repeated with a tone that Geordi located somewhere between confusion and panic. “By whom? While I was here, no other person entered your quarters. I did no such actions. It is unethical to get intimate with someone in situations or states where they are not able to consent to them, sleep being one of such situations, and I would never-”

“I know, Data,” Geordi said with emphasis. He smiled widely as he hit Data’s chest with soft fists. “I absolutely know you wouldn’t. I was just teasing.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

There was a pause. Data pulled Geordi away slightly, probably to be able to see his face. “Would you like to be comforted by being kissed on your neck?” he asked softly.

Geordi melted. He was so sweet.

“Some other time maybe,” he replied.

“Please know that I am always available to do so.”

Geordi sighed, all smiley. “Thanks, Data.” He then rolled onto his back to stretch properly, careful not to hit his friend, and the bed’s soft movements told him Data probably imitated him. “Time to rise and shine!”

“I have no doubt you will. Did you dream while you were asleep?” Data asked casually.

“Yeah, actually,” Geordi remembered with a frown that deepened by the second. “I dreamt you wore pajamas. And we had a sleepover party.”

“Oh,” said Data, far too intrigued. “What color was my attire?”

Geordi smiled. “Some dark yellow, like two point one electron volts. Like the sky on Rigel IV, right before the sun rises.”

“I see. Was it also soft and fluffy like yours?”

“It was,” Geordi nodded and rolled his head, stretching his shoulders. This was all too good to be true – his bed now smelled of that exotic detergent spay. Everything was in balance.

He breathed in deeply. “Data?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you,” he said. Oh, it felt good to say that. “Thank you for everything.”

“You are very welcome,” Data replied softly. “Perhaps, if you do not mind, I could join you in today’s therapy session. It would greatly help me in understanding the situation you are currently going through. If you have no objections to me doing so, that is.”

Involuntarily laying a hand onto his beating heart, Geordi smiled. He was one lucky human.

Geordi knew it would’ve been easier to just ask Data to hand him the Visor, but instead he clumsily leaned over Data, fishing for the nightstand and laughing roughly. He could hardly wait to finally see his friend’s face.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if things felt out of place. I’m still on TNG s3 but watched this episode for some angst because;; How come Geordi always gets hurt? Like wow, I got so many H/C wips for him… Good thing he has Data (*´∀｀*)
> 
> Thank you for reading ♡


End file.
